In order to retain the fission products within the coated fuel particles, the coatings which act as fission product barrier have to remain mechanically intact during irradiation. As the mechanical stability of well designed pyrocarbon (PyC) coatings is mainly governed by their microstructure, this paper discusses the influence of PyC microstructure on the irradiation performance of the coatings.

A research program to investigate the technical and economic feasibility of producing solar-cell-quality sheet silicon by coating inexpensive ceramic substrates with a thin layer of polycrystalline silicon is described. The coating methods to be developed are directed toward a minimum-cost process for producing solar cells with a terrestrial conversion efficiency of 12 percent or greater. By applying a graphite coating to one face of a ceramic substrate, molten silicon can be caused to wet only that graphite-coated face and produce uniform thin layers of large-grain polycrystalline silicon; thus, only a minimal quantity of silicon is consumed. A dip-coating method for putting silicon on ceramic (SOC) has been shown to produce solar-cell-quality sheet silicon. This method and a continuous coating process also being investigated have excellent scale-up potential which offers an outstanding cost-effective way to manufacture large-area solar cells. A variety of ceramic materials have been dip-coated with silicon. The investigation has shown that mullite substrates containing an excess of SiO/sub 2/ best match the thermal expansion coefficient of silicon and hence produce the best SOC layers. With such substrates, smooth and uniform silicon layers 25 cm/sup 2/ in area have been achieved with single-crystal grains as large as 4 mm …

Ten appendices are included: log data, elastic constants for transversely isotropic elastic media by ultrasonic velocity measurement, fracture toughness anisotropy of West Valley shale, in-situ stress measurement techniques, stress measurement data, hydraulic fracturing measurements, enhancement of horizontal crack initiation by jetting, finite element programs for analysis of crack propagation and for groundwater flow analysis, and well data. (DLC)

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of a small, (365 MWt) nuclear reactor for supplying process steam and electricity as a replacement for energy sources using increasingly scarce natural gas or oil. The Du Pont Chemical Plant Site at Victoria, Texas, was chosen as representative of industrial installations that require sizeable amounts of process steam and electricity. For comparison purposes conventional coal-fired boilers were also evaluated. It was determined that both nuclear- and coal-based process energy supply systems are technically feasible. For the specific steam/electricity demands at the reference site, the coal-fired plant proved to be economically more attractive than the nuclear units. For an application requiring a base-loaded supply of saturated steam, utilizing full reactor capacity, the nuclear option appears competitive for coal costing $37/ton in 1978 dollars.

The status of the following tasks is reported: program management, studies and analysis, fuel processing, refabrication development, in-plant waste treatment, research general support, and major facilities including HTGR recycle reference facility, hot engineering test facility and cold prototype test facility-refabrication. (JRD)

The purpose of this project is to evaluate environmental transport and dose calculational models employed in the assessment of the radiological impact of routine and accidental radioactive discharges. This includes the identification of these models, the evaluation of their conceptualization, simplifying assumptions, and data bases, the estimation of their uncertainties and, if possible, the recommendation of the models and parameters which are best suited to particular assessment situations. Where needs are identified, recommendations will also be made for further environmental and biomedical research.

A compilation of 490 references is presented which is the second in a series compiled from the National Uranium Resource Evaluation (NURE) Bibliographic Data Base. This data base is one of six created by the Ecological Sciences Information Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, for the Grand Junction Office of the Department of Energy. Major emphasis for this volume has been placed on uranium geology, encompassing deposition, genesis of ore deposits, and ore controls; and prospecting techniques, including geochemistry and aerial reconnaissance. The following indexes are provided to aid the user in locating references of interest: author, geographic location, quadrangel name, geoformational feature, taxonomic name, and keyword.

Purpose of this study is to assess the environmental impacts from transportation of radioactive materials in urban environs. The impacts from accident-free transport, vehicular accidents during transport, and from other abnormal situations are analyzed. The approach is outlined including description of the models developed and the data bases employed to account for the special features of the urban environment. The operations and contributions of the task group formed to assist in this study are also discussed. The results obtained for the New York City study area are presented and explained.

The conference contained 14 papers, four of which appeared previously in ERA. Separate abstracts were prepared for 10 papers. (JFP)

This bibliography, containing 537 references from the 1977 literature, is the seventh in a series of annotated bibliographies on the effects of heat on aquatic organisms. The effects of thermal discharges at power plant sites are emphasized. Laboratory and field studies on temperature tolerance and the effects of temperature changes on reproduction, development, growth, distribution, physiology, and sensitivity to other stresses are included. References in the bibliography are divided into three subject categories: marine systems, freshwater systems, and estuaries. The references are arranged alphabetically by first author. Indexes are provided for author, keywords, subject category, geographic location of the study, taxon, and title (alphabetical listing of keywords-in-context of nontrivial words in the title).

This volume contains detailed information on each of the following sections: (1) fusion target design, (2) target fabrication, (3) laser fusion experiments and analysis, (4) advanced lasers, (5) systems and applications studies, and (6) laser isotope separation program. (MOW)

The data file was built to provide information support to DOE researchers in the field of low-level radioactive waste disposal and management. The scope of the data base emphasizes studies which deal with the ''old'' Manhattan sites, commercial disposal sites, and the specific parameters which affect the soil and geologic migration of radionuclides. Specialized data fields have been incorporated into the data base to improve the ease and accuracy of locating pertinent references. Specific radionuclides for which data are presented are listed in the ''Measured Radionuclides'' field, and specific parameters which affect the migration of these radionuclides are presented in the ''Measured Parameters'' field. The 504 references are rated indicating applicability to shallow land burial technology and whether interpretation is required. Indexes are provided for author, geographic location, title, measured parameters, measured radionuclides, keywords, subject categories, and publication description. (DLC)